Alphabet Soup
by Craic agus Ceol
Summary: A collection of what will 26 short slice of life stories about Brynn and Riley. Takes place postRansom, but you don't have to read that first. As of now, all are pre-NT2. On hiatus until further notice. Sorry!
1. A is for Appetizers

A/n-The idea behind this multi-one-shot fanfic is to give me something to do while I'm waiting for my next big plot bunny. I have nothing major, at least fanfiction-wise, on my schedule right now, and my college apps are done, so I have nothing to work on. Therefore I started this little pet project, which is something to keep me writing during my dry spell. For those of you who don't recognize the character of Brynn Gallagher, she was a major OC in my story "Ransom" so I suggest you read that first. If, for some reason, you don't want to, don't have time, or have difficulty remembering, she was a close friend of Riley's while the two were in college. After graduation, the two went their seperate ways and met up again only recently when Brynn decided to track down her old friend. Now the two of them are trying to rekindle the PLATONIC friendship they once had. This little collection of stories is basically a bunch of little "slice of life" stories that take place post-"Ransom".

Disclaimer-I don't own anything National Treasure affiliated, or any other pop culture references I happen to make. I don't own "The Little Biscuit House", either. It's an actual place. I've been there. Whether or not there's one in DC, however, I don't know.

PS-thanks to my beta, **Rhiannon Aurorafai**. I made it longer, just for you! And yes, X will be interesting, but I'll burn--er, _cross_ that bridge when I come to it.

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**A is for Appetizers**

"All you're eating is mozzarella sticks?" Riley asked incredulously. Brynn shrugged her shoulders, engrossed in a purple Etch-a-Sketch.

"I don't like biscuits," she explained distractedly.

"Then why did you propose we come to the 'Little Biscuit House'?"

"Because I love their mozzarella sticks. Why else?"

Riley was nonplussed by Brynn's retort. "Well, what do you suggest for those of us not cheese-inclined?" Riley asked, gesturing to the menu. Brynn looked at him over the top of her glasses, her attention finally drawn away from the Etch-a-Sketch.

"There's plenty of food on the menu, Riley. It's not like you have money constraints or anything. You could get lobster, if they had lobster on the menu," Brynn, having contributed to the conversation, returned her attention to the masterpiece she was creating. Riley simply rolled his eyes and loudly tapped his fingers on the table. Sooner or later the annoyance factor alone would bring her attention back to him.

It barely took two minutes. Brynn put down the Etch-a-Sketch and stared at him. "Alright, Riley. You win. You can have my full, undivided attention for as long as you need it." Her stare was creepy, and Riley frowned slightly. He knew she was doing it to bother him, and it was working.

"Just suggest something, OK? I've never been here before," Brynn gave a put-upon sigh and picked up her menu.

"Hmm. Well, you could have the potato skins, they're good. Or maybe the little buffalo wing thingies," She put down the menu and returned to her Etch-a-Sketch.

"Potato skins and buffalo wings. Do you ever eat anything that's not an appetizer?" Riley asked. Brynn simply glanced at him and smiled.

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So, want more? Well too bad, you're going to get 'em! I promise, the rest will be longer!  
-Pog 


	2. B is for Boy Scouts

_Note on pronunciation: Aoife is pronounced "EE-fah".  
__Dedicated to my poor sick beta, **Rhiannon Aurorafai**. I hope you get better, chica!  
Disclaimer-I don't own anything National Treasure affiliated. I do own the Gallagher Clan, which is going to expand exponentially in the next few chapters...  
**Update 4/2008-I didn't realize that I had different names for Brynn's older brother in chapters 2 and 3. I've fixed that.**_

**

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B is for Boy Scouts**

"…and so they say the Hook Man still roams the forests, looking for young couples to disembowel," Brynn finished her story triumphantly, and smiled at the haunted countenances of the Boy Scouts assembled around the fire.

"I don't think you kids have to worry," the Scoutmaster, Peter White, spoke up. "I seriously doubt any of these thirteen-year-olds have any girlfriends they brought camping with them."

"Or boyfriends," Aoife Gallagher, the single girl in the troop of Boy Scouts, spoke up. Several nervous titters from the Boy Scouts accompanied her speech.

"You're right, Aoife, or boyfriends," Peter sighed. Brynn patted her niece on the head.

"Good girl, always make sure people don't generalize when it comes to gender. Now go steal Riley's hat and throw it into the forest, that'll make him feel better," Brynn instructed. Riley glared at her.

"I still don't see why I had to come babysit your various relations with you," he responded, defending his hat from Aoife. "The Scoutmaster didn't need me."

"You came because you haven't seen my niece and nephews since we were in college, and they're all grown up now," Brynn retorted. "Aren't they cute? Connor, Neal, I'll give a dollar to whichever Gallagher is able to steal Riley's hat."

"That's not fair, three on one!" Riley protested, as the two boys joined the fight. Brynn smiled at her friend and her niece and nephew, before standing up and taking Riley's hat herself.

"I win," she said simply, and handed his hat back. "The master always wins!"

"Aw, Auntie Brynn," one of the boys, Connor, protested. "That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair, Connor. And I had to put up with your father when I was a kid, so I think turnabout's fair play," Brynn handed Riley his hat back. Aoife, Connor, and Neal were the children of Brynn's oldest brother, Brennan. They were triplets, and had recently had their thirteenth birthdays. Connor and Neal were both in Boy Scouts, and were able to go on the annual camping trip for members who had just turned thirteen. Aoife, feeling left out, had protested until the Scoutmaster and her parents had allowed her to go. This had necessitated a female chaperone to attend the trip. Brennan and his wife, Adrienne, had gone to Canada for the weekend, leaving Brynn watching their house. When news had come through saying that Aoife would be unable to attend the trip if a mom didn't join the expedition, Brynn had volunteered. And because she didn't want to be alone with a group of thirteen-year-olds, she had invited Riley to come along.

"Yeah, they're cute alright," Riley muttered, putting his hat back on his head, "cute as….as really ugly fish!"

"Really ugly fish?" Connor arched his eyebrows. "Well I hope the Hook Man gets you!"

"Me? I don't have a girlfriend," Riley protested. "The Hook Man wouldn't come for me."

"He'd come for you and Auntie Brynn," Aoife teased.

"We're not going out, Aoif'," Brynn rolled her eyes. "I've told you once, I've told you a million times. Riley is my friend. We went to college together. He's here because…"

"She's evil and likes to see me cry," Riley finished. Brynn glared at him and punched him in the shoulder.

"See if I ever invite you to go somewhere fun with me again. I'll take Rowan or Renée instead," Brynn retorted, and she stuck out her tongue.

"Oh, very mature," Riley muttered. "Here you are, teaching the boy scouts nice, mature things to do."

"This is coming from the guy who enlisted them to rig my tent to fall down? Nice try, by the way, but it wouldn't be the first time that someone in the Gallagher clan tried that trick," Brynn snorted. The Scoutmaster watched the exchange with mild interest, wondering exactly what sorts of things the two friends had taught his troop.

"Oh be quiet, Miss 'Administrative Assistant'," Riley rolled his eyes.

"Hah, at least I have a steady job!" Brynn retaliated. Riley opened his mouth to argue back, but it was precisely at that moment that a marshmallow bounced off his forehead, and one of the boy scouts across the campfire proclaimed it a 'direct hit'. Riley shot a sour look at Brynn, who was giggling. At least until the other boys, taking the hint, began using her as target practice, too.

"You know what?" Riley said with a sigh, passively accepting the marshmallow barrage. Brynn looked at him as she picked a marshmallow out of her hair. "I really, really hate boy scouts."


	3. C is for Cast

_A/n-Sorry for the delay. My beta's Internet has been on the fritz...  
Note on pronunciation: Tigernach is pronounced "TEER-na". Ciaran is pronounced "KEER-an".  
Disclaimer-I don't own nuffin' gov'na  
Thanks to my beta, Rhiannon Aurorafai, even if her Internet provider totally sucks.  
**Update 4/2008-found some hidden errors, discontinuities, etc. Hope it's clearer now!**_

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**C is for Cast**

Abigail glanced at her watch again and sighed. Riley had promised that he and Brynn would be at the restaurant at 7pm. It was now 7:30, and Abigail was becoming agitated.

"Relax, Abigail," Ben sighed. "It's Riley. He's always late for everything. Brynn said he runs on his own time schedule, remember? Either that or their plane was delayed. Weren't they coming back from California today?"

"It's a five-hour plane trip, and they were leaving at 12:30, so they should've gotten back to their respective homes around six. They had an hour before they were supposed to be here. Riley was the one who set the time for dinner, remember?" Abigail pointed to her watch. "He said they'd be here by seven!"

"Relax, Abigail," Ben repeated, gesturing to the front door of the restaurant. "See, they're here!"

Abigail's expression changed from irritated to worried. "They don't look very happy; I hope everything's alright." Her observation was correct. Riley was carrying his arm funny and was obviously displeased with something. Brynn had a very harried expression on her face.

"I'm never visiting her family again," Riley stated as he sat down. "She ruined the entire trip!"

"I did not!" Brynn retorted. She looked at Ben and Abigail. "Everything's his fault." Riley looked as if he was going to give a very loud response, and Ben was quick to intervene.

"Ok, exactly what happened?" he put up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. Riley held up one arm and rolled up the sleeve to reveal a blue cast.

"This is what's wrong. Do you have any idea what I've gone through in the past two days?" he demanded. Brynn sighed.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you ask; he's going to tell you anyway," she informed Ben and Abigail.

"Alright, Riley. I'll bite. What happened?" Abigail asked.

"First of all, I was trapped for three days with all of Brynn's crazy relatives," Riley began. Brynn rolled her eyes.

"Part of the deal of 'visiting my family with me' was actually interacting with my family. They're not crazy, they're just Irish!" She retorted.

"Yeah, and rugby-obsessed!" Riley shot back.

"That wasn't my fault!" Brynn growled. "Blame Ewan! He's the one who took soccer too far!"

"Children, children," Ben said, in what he hoped was a pacifying way. He hadn't seen Riley this angry with anyone in a long time. Apparently something had gone horribly wrong with the trip. "Start at the beginning. Exactly why were you in California?"

"Because around this time of year, my family always has a huge get-together. One in June, after everyone gets out of school or whatever, and one for Christmas. I have eight siblings, so it's always fun to get all of us together. I invited Riley to come along, since he hasn't seen my family since…well, since Christmas during our senior year. That was what, two years ago?" Brynn glanced at Riley, who nodded sullenly.

"So you brought Riley with you on a family get-together. How did this end up with Riley in a bad mood and with a cast?" Ben asked.

"On my right arm, too," Riley muttered. "My poor right arm. Hopefully nobody will need anything written for the next six weeks."

"As if anyone could read your handwriting anyway, Riley," Abigail teased, beating Brynn to the punch. The younger woman grinned, glad to see Riley's glare directed at someone else.

"Anyway," Brynn spoke up, "on the last day of our family reunion, or whatever you'd call it, we always have the Great Bi-Annual Gallagher Soccer Game. Riley had to play to make the teams even. So because the vast majority of us are related, the game always seems to escalate into semi-violence."

Riley snorted. "'Semi-violence'? More like all-out brawl!"

"My little sister, Caelan, took up rugby recently. Her college has an intramural team, or something to that effect. So she tackled Ewan, who then suggested that we play rugby instead. Caelan, being on the team and all, had a ball in her car. Even Adrienne—she's my sister-in-law—was getting into it, and she's not a violent person. Except when she whacked Brennan on the back of the head for stealing the ball from her…" Brynn was getting into the storytelling and was beginning to use the complimentary individual sugar packets as various soccer players.

"Wait, wait, wait," Abigail held up one hand. "Who are all these people?"

"Various siblings of mine. Ewan and Brennan are two and fifteen years older than me, respectively. Adrienne is Brennan's wife. Caelan and her twin, Ciaran, are four years younger than I am. Anyway, it just so happened that Riley was tossed the ball, and Tigernach, one of my other brothers, tackled him from behind. Riley landed funny on the ball and broke his arm. My mom ended up having to drive him and Ciaran to the hospital, because the ambulances were all on call somewhere else, apparently there was some horrible car accident," Brynn shrugged. "The doctors put Riley's arm back together, wrapped it up and sent him home. Ciaran, on the other hand, had a pretty nasty concussion so he had to stay another day or so for observation. Someone kicked him in the head."

"Sounds lovely," Ben remarked dryly. "Are all of your family get-togethers this exciting?"

"Yup," Brynn replied, entirely too chipper about the entire situation. "Last Christmas, my sister Sinead twisted her ankle, Tigernach broke his collarbone, Ewan bruised his hip badly by falling while ice skating, and Ciaran got a…" Brynn paused. "Huh. Ciaran got a concussion. I'll have to tell Mom to make sure that kid wears a helmet 24-7. I think he's had more head injuries than you, Riley."

"See," Riley accused, "her little rendition of what happened glosses over the fact that her brother didn't even notice the fact that I was writhing in pain, picked up the ball out of my mangled arm, and went to score a field goal…or whatever it's called in rugby. Your family is a bunch of sadists."

"At least it wasn't something bad like a compound fracture or one of the icky ones where the bone comes out of the skin, right? And you had fun on the trip. We visited Stanford and walked down memory lane, right? It was fun!" Brynn prodded Riley in the ribs. "I'm hungry. Why haven't we gotten menus yet?"

"It was fun until your oaf of a brother broke my arm," Riley grumbled.

"Tigernach said he was sorry, and he paid for your hospital bill! He didn't mean to break your arm!" Brynn growled, defending her brother. Ben and Abigail smiled at each other as a very intense debate broke out between the two friends.

"I told you that we don't need children. All we need to do is adopt the two of them, and we're set," Abigail spoke softly, so as not to disturb the banter. She needn't have bothered, because Brynn and Riley had somehow managed to progress from the integrity of Brynn's brother and were now arguing over the practicality of umbrellas with built-in links to the internet. Ben gave her an amused look.

"You know, that doctor was a freakin' sadist," Riley admitted. "He kept poking my arm and asking 'does that hurt?' Of course it hurts, my arm bone is in two pieces!" Riley pointed at the cast.

"Well, at least they let you pick the color, right? I mean, after all, what's having a cast if you can't get one in designer colors? Besides, it matches your eyes…" Brynn trailed off, grinning. "Maybe now you'll get that girlfriend that Mom was harassing you about!"

Ben and Abigail were not able to contain themselves at that comment; both burst out laughing. Brynn joined them, the memory of her mother admonishing Riley for having not found a girl in the two years since she'd last seen him. The fact that all his time had been consumed by treasure hunting was moot, in her eyes. Even Riley laughed after a moment, allowing the sound of his friends' mirth to dull the embarrassment of the referenced situation and the pain from his arm.

After all, Brynn was right. Maybe the cast would allow him to make a better impression on the ladies.


End file.
